To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
by Erin Salvatore
Summary: AU/AH. Psychiatrist Klaus Mikaelson has been having recurring dreams about a woman that asks for his help. He doesn't know what they mean, or why he keeps having them. Then one day, he receives a new patient named Caroline Forbes, who bears a resemblance to the woman in his dreams. Is it a coincidence or fate?
1. Chapter 1

**To Sleep, Perchance to Dream**

**by Erin Salvatore**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.**

_**Note: Don't ask why I thought of this, but I got an idea for a new Klaroline AU/AH. The plot is this: Psychiatrist Klaus Mikaelson has been recurring dreams about a woman who asks him for his help. He doesn't know what they could mean, or who the woman is, until the day he gets a new patient named Caroline Forbes, who bears a resemblance to the woman from his dreams. Is this a coincidence or fate?**_

_**Like I said, don't ask, I got the idea over the weekend and wanted to post it.**_

**Chapter 1**

**_T_**_he moonlight shone on the beach, making the water shine like diamonds as Klaus Mikaelson walked down the shore. How he had come to be here was anyone's guess. The only thing he knew was this was a very peaceful scene and he closed his eyes as the wind blew against his face and whistled in his ears. When he opened his eyes again, he saw someone coming toward him: a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. That was strange, why was she here on his beach?_

_Klaus waited until she was close enough to him before he said, "Is there something I can do for you, love?"_

_The woman grabbed his arms. "You've got to help me. You're the only one who can help me."_

_Klaus placed his hands on her arms, seeing that she was near hysterics. "All right, all right, love, just calm down and I'll help you. What's your name?"_

_The woman ignored him and continued, "Please, you've got to help me. They're after me."_

"_Who's after you?" said Klaus. "Tell me."_

"_They're after me. Please, help me. You're the only one who can help me."_

Klaus forced himself awake and sat up in bed, turning on the lamp on his bedside table. He had that dream again, the same dream that had been plaguing him every night for the past several months. It was always the same thing: a woman approached him on a beach and asked him to help her.

The ironic thing about this was that he should be used to this sort of thing by now, since he was a psychiatrist, the best in the business. He had seen patients of varying conditions on a given basis. He had his own practice in town, and he even visited the Mystic Falls Psychiatric Hospital a few times to treat patients that had been sent there for treatment. In fact, he wondered what these recurring dreams could mean, or who this woman was. The only identifying features were that she had blonde hair and blue eyes. Of course, that could fit any number of people in Mystic Falls.

He was still thinking about it when the phone rang. Klaus looked at the clock to see what time it was: 2:30 AM. Who the hell could be calling him at _this_ hour of the night? It couldn't be a patient, even though he had said that they could reach him any time, day or night. Deciding it wouldn't be right to leave the caller hanging, Klaus looked at the ID and saw the name of the person calling: ELIJAH MIKAELSON. Great, it was his brother. What the hell could he possibly be want? Though, it could be a bit of a relief to hear from him, since it would help take his mind off the dream he just woke up from. It might not be a permanent solution, but at least it would be helpful.

"Elijah, to what do I owe the pleasure of receiving a call from you?"

"I apologize for the late hour, Niklaus. I hope I wasn't disturbing you."

Klaus shook his head. "No, I was awake anyway. Now, what's going on? Amelia waking you up with her bizarre cravings?"

Elijah's wife, Amelia, was pregnant with their second child. They already had a three-year-old daughter named Evelyn, who was the jewel of his eye, Klaus' as well. "No, the cravings have been manageable, and the mood swings aren't as bad as when she was pregnant with Evelyn. Anyway, I called to see if you were all right."

So, that was the reason? He was checking up on him? Bless his heart. "Actually, brother, I'm glad you called. You know how I said that I was awake? Well, the reason I'm awake is because I had that dream again."

"The one where you're on the beach and a woman asks you to help her?"

"That's the one," said Klaus. "I don't know what it means. I don't even know who the woman is. I only know that she has blonde hair and blue eyes." He chuckled. "How ironic, I'm a psychiatrist and I have one of the things that I hear about from my patients."

"I'm sure that you'll find out the meaning of the dream in time," said Elijah. "As for the identity of the woman, you'll find that out as well. How long have you had the dream?"

"It started about several months ago, around the same time I started treating Stefan Salvatore for depression." He got nervous. "You don't think I'm depressed, do you?"

"I doubt you're having that dream because you're depressed," said Elijah. "If you were depressed, you wouldn't be dreaming about a beach, unless of course, your dream involved attempting to drown yourself in the ocean."

Klaus rolled his eyes, even though Elijah couldn't see through the phone. "_You're_ a big help."

"Sorry, wrong choice of words," said Elijah. "So, what are you going to do about your dream?"

"I don't know," said Klaus. "I guess the best thing I could do would be not to try to interpret it, because it'll probably be futile, and just wait until the meaning presents itself."

"Of course," said Elijah. "In the meantime, try not to worry about it."

Klaus agreed and, after telling him to tell Evelyn hello for him, hung up and placed the phone down on the bedside table. The last words Elijah told him rang in his mind: _"Try not to worry about it."_ Yeah, that was easy for _him_ to say. _He_ wasn't the one being plagued by a mystery dream. Of course, he was right about not worrying about it. Maybe the meaning would present itself if he didn't try to intrepret it. Until then, he would just have to wait it out.

_**Note: Thus begins another AU/AH. I'll have Caroline in the next chapter, and our leads will meet. And there will be romance in here as the story progresses. Until then, stay tuned!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.**

_**Note: Previously, in "To Sleep, Perchance to Dream," Klaus is having a recurring about a woman that tells him to help her, but won't tell him her name. He tells Elijah about it, and he tells him not to worry about it, even though that seems easier said than done.**_

_**Okay, lovelies, since I've already got four reviews, I thought I'd go ahead with the next chapter. No spoilers, just read on!**_

_Office of Dr. Klaus Mikaelson – 2 Days Later..._

**K**laus sipped the coffee in his hand as he walked into his office. Even though he was still being haunted by the mystery dream, he told himself that he had patients to treat and he couldn't let them down just because his sleep was being disrupted. Perhaps he could learn something from them while talking about their latest troubles.

"Looks like _somebody's_ been burning the candle at both ends."

Klaus was startled out of his reverie by a voice behind him and turned around to see Damon Salvatore standing there. Ever since his brother started going to therapy for his bouts of depression, Damon, who was a cardiologist at Mystic Falls Medical Center, often came by for updates on Stefan's treatments. In fact, that was how he learned about the suicide attempt and the need to be admitted to the psychiatric hospital for observation.

"You miss nothing, do you, Dr. Salvatore?" he replied. "If you _must _know, I've been having a bit of trouble sleeping lately. I keep having this dream that I can't shake."

"No wonder you have an extra large cup of coffee," said Damon. "When did you start having it?"

"A while ago," said Klaus. "I told Elijah about it and he told me not to worry about it. Well, that's easy for _him_ to say, since _he's_ not the one being bothered by a mystery dream." He sighed. "Anyway, I suppose you're here for the usual update about your brother?"

Damon nodded, even though he was still curious about the dream. "Yeah, has he improved any since he was admitted?"

"I spoke with the head nurse at the facility and she said that Stefan is improving, though he's been rather quiet. It took some coaxing to get him to talk at group therapy. I have reason to believe that it might be because of the drugs they've been giving him."

"Maybe it's not the drugs," said Damon. "It could be something else."

Klaus was about to reply when Sophie Deveraux, one of the receptionists, spoke up. "Dr. Mikaelson, there's a new patient waiting for you."

"Is there really?" he replied. "When did he get here?"

"Actually, it's a she," said Sophie. "And she said it was urgent that she see you, since she's heard that you're the best at what you do."

Klaus nodded and looked at Damon. "I'd hate to cut this short, but I've got a new patient to see. Perhaps we could talk more about this when I'm not so busy. I believe I still owe you a drink, having missed the last time we were supposed to get together?"

"I've got a pretty full day today," said Damon. "Tell you what, though, I'll call you later." He placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You'll beat this thing, Klaus. It's going to take more than some dream to get you rattled."

Klaus nodded again and after Damon left, he took the chart that Sophie handed him and headed toward the room that his new patient was waiting in. When he got there and looked up from the chart, he was nearly floored by the sight of the blonde hair and blue eyes that the young woman possessed. She looked like the woman from his dreams. But, how was that possible? Could it be that...no, it _had_ to be a coincidence.

"Dr. Mikaelson? Are you...okay? You look like you saw a ghost or something. If that's the case, you probably need this more than I do."

Klaus shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I just...thought I saw someone." He cleared his throat and sat in the leather chair across from her. "Now, what I can do for you today, Miss..."

"Forbes. Caroline Forbes."

Shit, a beautiful woman with an even _more_ beautiful name. "Right, what I can do for you, Miss Forbes? Or can I call you Caroline?"

"I don't care," said Caroline. "I answer to both." She ran a hand through her hair, twirling one of the ends with her finger. "I'm here because they say that I'm...well, messed up and I need to see someone about it. Since you're the best at what you do, they told me that you can help me."

"We're _all_ a little messed up in some way, Caroline," said Klaus. "Otherwise, there wouldn't be any need for psychiatrists." He cleared his throat again. "Now, tell me what your problem is and we can work through it together."

Caroline gulped. "Lately, I've gotten the feeling that I'm being followed."

The second she said that, Klaus remembered what the woman in the dream said. _"They're after me."_

"I see, and how long has this been going on?"

"I don't know, maybe about two, three weeks," said Caroline. "I told my mom about it, because she's the sheriff and all, but she hasn't been able to find anything. Even though she's looking into it, I still can't shake the feeling that someone is following me, and I'm scared."

Klaus looked into her eyes and could tell that she was definitely scared by what was going on. "Caroline, I can assure you that you're safe here. No one is going to harm you, you have my word. I'm going to help you get through this." He took her hand. "You can trust me, Caroline."

Caroline felt his gentle hand on top of hers and trembled a little. "Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate this, Dr. Mikaelson."

"Call me Klaus. There's no need to be formal."

"I like your name," said Caroline. "It's very...sophisticated, like a king or even a lord."

"You flatter me, Caroline," said Klaus. "Now, as I said before, I'm going to help you get through this."

Caroline nodded and gave him a small smile. He seemed to be very handsome, with short, slightly curly dark blonde hair and gorgeous greenish blue eyes. He even had the kind of body that any woman worth her salt would go nuts over, and lips that she was tempted to kiss. However, she discouraged herself from having impure thoughts. After all, he was a psychiatrist and she was his patient.

_**Note: There you have it, our leads have met. Things will get better as the story moves on. And, as I said, they'll eventually fall in love, though there is a bit of an attraction here, wouldn't you agree? ;)**_

_**Anyway, stay tuned!**_

_**ENJOY THE UPDATE AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing. If I did own it, Klaus and Caroline would be together by now.**

_**Note: Previously, in "To Sleep, Perchance to Dream," Klaus, still struggling to make sense of his dream, meets his new patient, Caroline Forbes, who says she feels like someone is following her, which reminds him of what the woman in his dream told him.**_

_**I just came up with the idea for this next chapter, but wasn't sure if it sounds better in my head or written. No spoilers, just read on!**_

**K**laus kept his gaze on Caroline as he got his tablet out to record the notes for the session. He then noticed that she was rather uneasy by this. "What's wrong?"

"You're going to write down what I say?"

"I have to take notes on what we talk about in our sessions, Caroline," he replied. "It's the best way to effectively treat you. If you're worried that I'm going to tell anyone about what we talk about, I can assure you that what gets said in this room stays in this room. Doctor-patient confidentiality is something I would never violate, no matter what the circumstances."

Caroline nodded. She felt somewhat better knowing that whatever she said to him would be just between them. Although she only just met him, she felt like she had seen him somewhere before. Once she was certain that their conversation would be kept confidential, it made her feel comfortable with telling him what triggered her feeling of being followed.

"Now that we've got that formality out of the way, tell me how this began."

"It started about several weeks ago," she replied. "I was hanging out with my friends in the dorm at school, talking about how much we hate our professors. Everything was going fine until I suddenly get this strange feeling, the kind of feeling that people get in horror movies when the monster or the killer is nearby. I see these shadows that weren't there before and when one of my friends asks me if I'm okay, I immediately shake my head and run out of the dorm, hoping that I can escape whatever I think I saw."

Klaus listened to her as he typed notes on the tablet, looking up at her occasionally. He could see just how frightened she was, it was evident in her eyes. In fact, she had the same wild look that the woman in his dream had as she begged him to help her. He was beginning to sense that this might not be a coincidence after all, that his dream and what Caroline experienced were somehow linked. But, how could he tell her without scaring her more than she was already? _I can't keep it from her forever,_ he thought. _Eventually, I'm going to have to tell her._

"Aside from your mother, who else have you told?"

"No one else," said Caroline. "You're the only other one who knows about it." She shook her head. "I just don't get it, Klaus. I mean, I'm not like this normally. This...this...whatever it is, it only just surfaced recently and I haven't been able to make heads or tails of it. It's not only scaring the shit out of me, but it's also making me question if I'm truly safe, if I can trust anyone."

"I already told you that you can trust me, Caroline," said Klaus. "You're safe here. I know that it's hard and I know that you probably don't want to, but could you describe these shadows that you say are following you?"

"They're shadows, they're impossible to describe," said Caroline. "They assume various shapes every time I see them, each one more terrifying than the last. Like I said, I don't get it. Why the hell does this have to happen to _me_, of all people?"

"We all have things happen to us that we can't explain," said Klaus. "And because we can't explain them, we're afraid of them."

"Even you?"

Klaus was a bit taken aback by her question. _Do I dare tell her? True, she's curious, but can she handle it? _Nodding, he said, "Yes, even me."

"What happened?"

"Caroline, we're not here to discuss me," said Klaus, hoping to discourage her from straying off the path. "We're here to discuss you. I know I said that I've had things happen to me that I can't explain, but I'm not at liberty to talk about it."

"I won't tell anyone else," said Caroline. "Didn't you just tell me that whatever gets said in this room stays in this room? I would think that the same would apply to you. Confidentiality doesn't necessarily have to be a one-way street."

Shit, how was he going to talk his way out of this? The only other ones he mentioned this to were Elijah and Damon, and that was because he knew them both. "If I tell you, do you promise that you won't tell anyone else?"

Caroline nodded. "Of course."

"Your situation is similar to a dream I keep having," said Klaus. "It started right around the time you started seeing the shadows. It's a moonlit night and I'm standing on the beach, looking at the sparkling ocean, when a woman who looks an awful lot like you comes over to me and says, 'They're after me.' I ask who, but she doesn't answer, simply repeats what she said before, telling me that only I can help her. I don't remember what happens after that, because I wake up at that point."

Caroline put her hand on her mouth as a small gasp escaped her. _No wonder he said that he's had things happen to him. His dream and my situation are somehow linked. But, that's not possible, right? I only just told him my problem and he's been having a recurring dream about it._

Finally, she removed her hand from her mouth. "I'm sorry, Klaus, I didn't mean to make you tell me."

"No, love, don't apologize," he replied. "You were curious, and there's no law against being curious."

He sighed and placed his tablet aside. "I think we should leave it here for today and next week, we can pick up where we left off."

Caroline was somewhat disappointed, since she wanted to know more, but she couldn't push her luck. "All right. I would like to know more about this. It does help to know that someone else has something similar to what you have, which makes things better than they seem." She stood up and grabbed her purse. "How much do I owe you for this?"

"No, Caroline, I don't want your money. For you, these sessions are free."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," he replied. "I know that most of my other patients won't like it, but you're an exception."

For a few minutes, there was a silence between them, as though neither of them knew what to do or say. Klaus couldn't help but admire just how beautiful Caroline actually was and it took all the strength he had not to spring out of his chair, pull her into his arms, and kiss her, caress her voluptuous curves and then shove everything off his desk before laying her on top of it as they tore their clothes off and kissed each other savagely as they made love to each other.

"I'll, uh, see myself out then."

Her words cut through the silence, bringing him back to reality somewhat. Nodding, he said, "All right, see you next week then."

Caroline nodded as well and then headed out of the room. Once she was gone, Klaus looked down at himself, seeing that he had gotten rock hard from that fantasy he had been startled out of. Shit, the effect she had on him, and just from a single look or a few words from that glorious mouth that he could already picture himself exploring with his tongue.

_Get a hold of yourself, Niklaus,_ his thoughts scolded him. _She's your patient, damn it, no matter how beautiful you think she is, or how much you want to caress her body with your hands._

_**Note: I don't know what else to put here, so I'll end Chapter 3. My evil imagination nearly had me kiss her, but thankfully, I stopped myself. It'll happen, just not now. ;) Stay tuned!**_

_**ENJOY THE UPDATE AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.**

_**Note: Previously, in "To Sleep, Perchance to Dream," Caroline tells Klaus about shadows that appeared to her, after which he tells her about his dream.**_

_**I apologize for the delay in updates, but I haven't been very inspired lately. Thankfully, I should be able to update tonight. No spoilers, just follow along.**_

_Mystic Grill – That Evening..._

**E**lijah noticed that Klaus was unusually quiet as they sat in a booth at the Grill. He knew that his brother was dealing with a quite a bit, in between the patient load he had and the dream that had been plaguing him for weeks, and this time, he had a right to be concerned.

"Are you feeling all right, Niklaus? You haven't said much since we got here."

Klaus lifted his head to meet his older brother's gaze. "I'm just tired, that's all. I have a feeling that the dream I've been having isn't going to go away any time soon."

"You _do_ look a bit exhausted," said Elijah. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you drive home in that condition. Why don't you spend the night at my place? We have plenty of room, and I know that Evelyn would love to see her favorite uncle."

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "I'm not the _only_ uncle she has, you know. She also has Finn, Kol, and Henrik."

"I know, but she loves you the most out of all of them," said Elijah. "I'm not going to take no for an answer on this. I'm deeply concerned about you. You can leave your car here and then I'll drive you back tomorrow to pick it up before you go to work."

Klaus sighed, knowing that his brother wouldn't allow him to refuse the offer. Besides, it wasn't as though he never spent the night at Elijah's place before. In fact, three years ago, just after Evelyn was born, he remembered spending two weeks with them to help when she got the colic. It was during those two weeks that he became Evelyn's favorite uncle and remained that way ever sincce. Finally, he sighed and shook his head.

"All right, Elijah, I'll stay with you tonight."

Elijah smiled. "This is for the best, brother. You need this more than you think you do."

Klaus said nothing to that, just nodded. Elijah always had his best interests at heart, just like when they were growing up. He would come to him for advice on anything. _It's no wonder that my chosen career was psychiatry, _he thought. _Elijah gave me advice through my life and now, I'm giving others advice as well._

_Elijah & Amelia's Mansion – Later..._

Amelia Spencer Mikaelson fluffed up the pillows of the spare bed in the guest room. She had just gotten a call from Elijah, telling her that Klaus was going to be spending the night with them. Although it had been short notice, Amelia agreed to get everything ready. After all, it had been quite a while since the last time she saw her brother-in-law. She was still getting it ready when she saw Evelyn in the doorway.

"Evelyn, sweetheart, you shouldn't be up," she said. "You should be in bed."

"I wanna see Uncie Niklaus, Mama."

"I know you do, love," said Amelia. "But, he's not going to be here for a few minutes yet."

Evelyn stood her ground. Apparently, she didn't care about the concept of time, something that was trivial to a three-year-old. "But, I wanna see Uncie Niklaus!"

Amelia went over to her daughter and picked her up, groaning a bit. The girl was getting heavy, and pretty soon, she wouldn't be able to pick her up anymore. Plus, she was pregnant, which added to the difficulty. She took the child to her room and placed her in the "big girl bed" she had recently gotten so that they could use the crib for the new baby.

"Evelyn, we talked about this. Throwing tantrums doesn't get us what we want," she said. "Now, I know you want to see your uncle, but getting all angry and impatient about it isn't going to get him here any faster."

She didn't get to hear the toddler's reply, because there was a knock at the door. Looking at Evelyn, Amelia lifted her up again and carried her over to the door, opening it to see her husband and Klaus standing there, which made Evelyn squirm in her mother's arms to be put down. Opening the door further to let the two men in, Amelia placed Evelyn down and she ran to Klaus' open arms.

"Uncie Niklaus!"

Klaus laughed at his niece's greeting. "Hello, Evie." He looked at her, kissing her cheek. "My goodness, you've gotten so big. I hear that you're going to have a new little brother or sister soon."

Evelyn nodded. "Yeah, I'm 'cited." She smiled. "Uncie Niklaus, guess what? I got a big girl bed."

"I know, Daddy was telling me on the way over here," said Klaus. "Why don't you show me, hmmm?"

Evelyn nodded and the two of them walked off to her room. After they were gone, Elijah went over to his wife, hugging her gently and kissing her.

"I'm sorry for springing this on you, love," he said. "It's just that because of those recurring dreams, Niklaus is rather exhausted, and I wasn't about to let him drive home that way. In fact, I don't know how he managed to get to the Grill."

"No, Eli, it's fine," said Amelia. "I love having your brother here, I really do. I know how concerned you are about him." She returned his kiss. "Besides, I think it'll help him being around Evelyn. He loves her just as much as we do. True, she has other uncles, but she has a special bond with Niklaus."

"Yes, they've become very close," said Elijah. "And I think he'll be able to sleep better tonight."

Amelia nodded. "I just hope that he'll be able to figure out why he keeps having those dreams."

Elijah nodded as well, kissing her again. "You're not the only one."

_**Note: Can't think of anything else to add, so I'll end Chapter 4 here. I know there was no Klaroline in this chapter, but I promise that the next chapter will have some. I just wanted to devote a chapter to Klaus, as well as involve Elijah and Amelia, and even little Evelyn. Stay tuned!**_

_**ENJOY THE UPDATE AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.**

_**Note: Previously, in "To Sleep, Perchance to Dream," Elijah notices that Klaus is exhausted and invites him to stay overnight with him and Amelia at their mansion.**_

_**Hey, lovelies, just got an idea for this next chapter and thought I'd treat you to an update. Don't ask where it came, just read on. Also, no spoilers.**_

_A Week Later..._

**C**aroline walked into Klaus' office, eager for their next session. She had been thinking about the way their first one ended, and it obviously left her curious. At first, she tried to dismiss it as coincidence that her situation mirrored his dreams, but she found it very difficult. She went over to the desk, meeting Sophie's gaze.

"I'm here for my 2:30 with Dr. Mikaelson." She knew that he had preferred that she call him by his first name, but she wasn't sure if she should do that when speaking with his secretary. _Don't want to confuse her, especially if she's been accustomed to calling him that._

Sophie nodded. "I just got a call from him, saying that he'll be a little late, so just have a seat in the waiting room and I'll tell him you're here when he walks in."

"Did he say why?"

"He was seeing a patient at the psychiatric hospital and the session ran a little later than he thought," said Sophie. "But, he wouldn't miss a session with you."

Caroline nodded, accepting the reason that Klaus was running late. Obviously, he had other patients besides her and they required his attention as well. So, she went to the waiting area, grabbed a magazine, and sat down. Granted the magazine was several months old, but there was still something interesting in there worth reading.

Several minutes later, she looked up and saw Klaus walking in, looking a bit flustered. _I guess the patient he went to see at the psychiatric hospital wasn't exactly cooperating and had to be restrained,_ she thought. _I don't want to push my luck and ask about it, since it's not my business to ask, and it would violate the doctor-patient privilege thing that he talked about last week._

Klaus noticed her sitting there and smiled. "Caroline, you have no idea how good it is to see you. I hope that you weren't waiting long."

"No, I just got here," she replied. "Sophie told me that you were running late and to go to the waiting room until you arrived."

Klaus nodded and said to Sophie, "Thank you, Sophie, for telling her to wait for me."

Sophie nodded as well. "That's what you pay me for, sir."

Klaus ignored what she said and escorted Caroline into the office, closing the door behind him, getting his tablet out, just like he did last week. Caroline watched him, taking her seat in the leather chair. He was definitely distracted, but she wasn't sure what it was.

"Now, remind me where we left off?"

"We were talking about the shadows that I saw."

"Right, right, those," said Klaus. "I believe I asked you what triggered them and you said that they just appeared, and that they took on various shapes."

"Actually, I do know what triggered them, I just didn't think about it at time," said Caroline. "It has to do with my ex-boyfriend, Tyler."

Upon hearing that, Klaus nodded. _At least we're getting to the root of the issue. I wonder, though, why she didn't mention it when we met last week? Perhaps it was because I'm new to her and she wasn't that comfortable with me yet. Now that she knows a little bit, she can open up a little more._

"I see," he said. "And what was about it your ex that triggered the shadows?"

Caroline played with the hem of her shirt before she said, "Well, we dated all through high school and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was fourteen. Though, he didn't really talk about it, since he was the mayor's son and you know how secretive politicians tend to be about issues, namely personal ones. Anyway, he was on medication and for the most part, it was all right. Then, when we were in our senior year, Tyler either forgot to take his meds, or he just refused to take them. Anyway, we were making out and he started to get rough. I tried to push him off, but he wouldn't stop."

Klaus saw that she was on the verge of tears and gently took her hand. "It's all right, Caroline, you don't have to tell me if it's too hard for you."

"No, I want to, that's what I'm here for, right? To talk about my problems?" said Caroline. "Anyway, before he went further, his uncle came in and pulled him off me. He told me that he'd tell Tyler's parents about what happened so that he could get help that he needed." She sniffed. "It was then that I decided that I'd get out before things got worse."

"And where's Tyler now?"

"Oddly enough, the Mystic Falls Psychiatric Hospital, the same place your other patient is," said Caroline. "He's been there for the past three years. I don't visit him, mostly because what he did to me still stings."

Klaus nodded again. "And that's when you started seeing the shadows you mentioned last week. It was because of him."

"Exactly," said Caroline. "I know that we've only just scratched the surface, but at least you know why the shadows started appearing."

Klaus saw that she hadn't pulled out of the hold he had on her hand. Then again, she didn't want to, because it was such a gentle hold. Still, he felt an overwhelming heat rush to him and before he could stop himself, he pulled her close to him and captured her lips with his in a soft yet passionate kiss. He felt her return the kiss after a moment of hesitation, hearing her moan as their tongues collided. Shit, this was wrong, and yet, it felt right at the same time. The kiss deepened and became more hungry and urgent. When he felt her hands moving down to pull his shirt out of his pants, he pulled back, breaking the kiss and looking into her blue eyes with his greenish blue ones.

"Caroline, we shouldn't do this," he said, seeing that it had gotten a little too quiet. "It's not right. I don't want to be arrested or lose my license."

"No, it's not your fault," she replied. "You acted on an impulse."

"It was still wrong," said Klaus. "You were hurt by your ex, and I don't want to take advantage of you." He let go of her hand and stood up. "I think we should end this session early, especially before things escalate even further."

Caroline was disappointed at that, but knew that he had a point. That kiss, although it may have felt good, was wrong. "All right." She got up from her chair, grabbed her purse, and walked out, not saying a word as she left. It was just as well that she didn't, mostly because it wouldn't have helped mattered if she said anything.

After she left, Klaus looked down at himself, seeing that he had gotten rock hard. Shit, what the hell was wrong with him? He was having feelings for this girl and they barely knew each other, even though he was seeing her once a week. He had read about this sort of thing. This was known as transferrance, when a patient has feelings for his or her therapist, and vice versa.

_I want her, God help me, but I want her,_ he thought. _She's so beautiful, so perfect. Yet, she's so damaged by what her bastard of an ex did to her. I know that I shouldn't, but it's happening anyway. How the hell am I going to handle this?_

_**Note: Holy shit, that was hot, huh? My original idea, which had them meeting at the psychiatric hospital when he goes to check on Stefan, wasn't going the way I wanted it, so I changed my mind and did this instead. I also originally wanted Tyler to have schizophrenia, but I opted for bipolar disorder, since I'm more familiar with that, having had a friend who was bipolar. Anyway, stay tuned and Merry Christmas, lovelies!**_

_**ENJOY THE UPDATE AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!**_


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